Telstar 14
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Telstar 14 or Estrela do Sul 1 (Southern Star 1) is a commercial communications satellite in the Telstar series built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for Telesat to provide Ku-band communications to South America and the Southern United States. Estrela do Sul 1 was launched by Sea Launch using a Zenit-3SL carrier rocket on 11 Jan 2004 for geosynchronous orbit at 63 degrees west.
Mission type | Communications |
---|---|
Operator | Loral Skynet (2004-07) Telesat (2007-11) |
COSPAR ID | 2004-001A |
SATCAT no. | 28137 |
Mission duration | 15 years planned |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | LS-1300 |
Manufacturer | Space Systems/Loral |
Launch mass | 4,695 kilograms (10,351 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 11 January 2004, 04:12:59 (2004-01-11UTC04:12:59Z) UTC[1] |
Rocket | Zenit-3SL |
Launch site | Odyssey |
Contractor | Sea Launch |
End of mission | |
Disposal | Decommissioned |
Deactivated | c. 2011 (2012) |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Geostationary |
Longitude | 63° west |
Perigee altitude | 36,193 kilometres (22,489 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 36,207 kilometres (22,498 mi) |
Inclination | 1.95 degrees |
Period | 24.28 hours |
Epoch | 28 October 2013, 15:53:21 UTC[2] |
The North solar array failed to open after launch, limiting the mission effectiveness. The president of SS/L later said images of the satellite in orbit showed massive damage to the affected array, indicating that an explosion had occurred during launch.[3] The satellite entered service with reduced capacity (17 transponders) and reduced life span of 7 years with the jammed panel.[4]
Estrela do Sul 1 / Telstar 14 and Estrela do Sul 2 / Telstar 14R are built around the Loral 1300 satellite bus, and have launch mass of around 5000 kg.